In downtown St. Paul, Ramsey County is considering removing the six West Publishing buildings which for years have constituted Ramsey County Government Center West along Kellogg Boulevard, overlooking Shepard Road and the Mississippi River along the bluffs. The proposal also seeks to eliminate the 30-year-old county jail, which is also vacant.
The thinking goes that the development community might be more apt to bite the apple, purchase the land and build something sizable and majestic that would return the site to the tax rolls if those outdated buildings were gone. The last viable development proposal fell through with the recession in 2008.
Some see challenges in the county removing the structures without a developer or plan in place to replace them. (The Scoop notes that the county has taken a similar approach with the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, or TCAAP, in Arden Hills, where numerous buildings are being demolished as we type.)
In today’s piece in the Pioneer Press, Friends of the Mississippi River executive director Whitney Clark is quoted as saying he’d like to see development that opens up views of the river — and all of the West Side — to the community:
“Tearing that old building down, I don’t think anybody would shed any tears over that,” Clark said. “The real question is how do you get a public-spirited redevelopment in that location?”
Developers have also begun weighing in today. Here’s Dick Zehring of MSP Commercial in Eagan, which manages some 25 buildings across the metro:
On the West Publishing buildings: “The views are fabulous, but the insides of the building are pretty darn dreadful. … The jail building on the other hand is a honeycomb of concrete, with concrete walls, concrete floors, concrete holding cells. I can understand why the developers have looked at those buildings and advised the county there’s no way to reuse them. If it were me, I might demolish the jail.”
Of course, not every developer wants to be quoted, seeing as they’re probably going to have to work with the county at some point or another. Here’s a development insider’s more critical take on whether the county should tear down the six West buildings without a partner in place:
“If it were me, frankly, I would not necessarily do that. I would say make me an offer, and if you want to reduce the amount of the offer by the cost (of demolition), then you could do that. … But I don’t think I’d demolish the West building (alone). … The likelihood of significant new construction, even on the riverfront, is very, very questionable, in my mind. I know the Pioneer-Endicott apartments are renting out.
But you’d have to do a market study to determine whether there is a significant market for high-rise condos that would justify the debt. … A Class A office, the new, more expensive office space in downtown St. Paul, has been the most popular, but that’s a big, big site (to develop all at once). … I think all at once is just going to be too ambitious for St. Paul right now. Now, what will happen, is someone will come in and prove me wrong, which would be just fine.”
A finally, here’s a short email from downtown building owner Jim Crockarell, directly to the Scoop:
The location might work for a hotel or apartments. The view of the river is very good from there. Office or condominium development would be much more risky
Jim Crockarell